LAKE BARKLEY, KY—One of two men who admitted to planting fish during Kentucky fishing tournaments received a probated 5-year sentence providing he pays $23,000 in restitution.

Brian Thomas of Dawson Springs was sentenced to one year each for theft by deception over $300 and theft by deception under $300. As part of his sentence, Thomas was also banned from holding a fishing license or participating in fishing events during his probation.

Kentucky State Police began investigating Thomas and his fishing partner, Dwayne Nesmith, in April 2006, after witnesses says they saw the pair take five bass from a submerged fish basket and subsequently weigh them at the Relay for Life Buddy Bass Tournament on Kentucky’s Lake Barkley.

A month earlier, in March 2006, the fraudulent fishermen won a $30,000 bass boat in the Lake Barkley Superbass Championship, allegedly using the same deceptive practice.

Nesmith pleaded guilty to identical charges and his sentence is pending.